Author Topic: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi  (Read 5069 times)

abou

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A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« on: 05 September 2015, 20:54:37 »
The 1st Avalon Irregulars were first formed during the early 3rd Succession War. Initially an ad hoc troubleshooting unit, they became a permanent, albeit little recognized, formation as time went on. The men and women of this company are picked from the various regiments of the Avalon Hussars brigade, yet they remain active on the roles of their parent unit as a sort of shell game to throw-off foreign intelligence. The Basiliskoi is not an elite unit, but is rather formed from older veterans who have demonstrated problem-solving and initiative in stressful situations. Relying on experience more than skill, all members are older than 30 years-old.

Not as famous as The Fox's Teeth, The Basiliskoi have made their mark up and down the Capellan and Draconis Marches. The AFFS High Command does their best to keep jumpships nearby to shift them to problem areas as needed. Recent missions have included shoring up beleaguered defenders; assisting or relieving bogged down assaults on foreign worlds; and deep raids. As of 3025, the unit is on extended R&R after returning from extensive pirate-hunting actions against a tenacious, well-armed pirate band operating out of the Outworlds Wastes. This has left them more experienced, but at 75% operational strength.

The Basiliskoi favor camouflage appropriate to the mission with dual-color highlights. The left-side is trimmed with red highlights; the right-side with white highlights.

Pre-3025
:
Battle Lance (with Lucky skill +6 points)
UnitSkillPoint Value
BattleMaster 1G440
Orion K439
Thunderbolt 5S436
Centurion A428
total = 149

Cavalry Lance (3 units with speed demon)
UnitSkillPoint Value
Valkyrie QA421+2=23
Griffin 1N430+2=32
Ostsol 4D430+2=32
Clint 2-3T419
total = 106

Fire Lance (two units in any round may use the sniper skill+6 points)
UnitSkillPoint Value
Longbow 7Q445
Jagermech S426
Trebuchet 5N427
Archer 2R439
total = 143

gross = 398

3025:
Battle Lance (with Lucky skill +6 points)
UnitSkillPoint Value
BattleMaster 1G256
Orion K347
Thunderbolt 5S343
total = 152

Cavalry Lance (3 units with speed demon trait)
UnitSkillPoint Value
Valkyrie QA325+2=27
Griffin 1N336+2=38
Ostsol 4D336+2=38
total = 103

Fire Lance (two units in any round may use the sniper skill+6 points)
UnitSkillPoint Value
Longbow 7Q354
Jagermech S331
Archer 2R347
total = 138

gross = 393
« Last Edit: 06 September 2015, 09:46:39 by abou »

ActionButler

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #1 on: 06 September 2015, 07:20:49 »
You've managed to throw almost all of my favorite mechs togeher into a single unit.  Can't wait to see the result  :)
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Fear Factory

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #2 on: 06 September 2015, 09:32:37 »
Rock solid group.  Can't go wrong with an OST.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

ColBosch

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #3 on: 06 September 2015, 09:40:03 »
For a moment there, I thought you'd managed to squeeze two companies into the 400 points...
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abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #4 on: 08 September 2015, 09:00:50 »
Sorry guys, things have been hectic and haven't gotten started. For a preview of what I am going for, here are others that I've painted in the similar manner. Potentially pushing these back is that I just got a boatload of IWM's fantasy (ie. D&D) miniatures that I am painting up for a game.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2WwNYn8byXbV1J0Um80Uk93M0k

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2WwNYn8byXbQUY2T19hSjVlY2s

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2WwNYn8byXbQjBoQzlGSG0yeXc

One of these days, I'll get a photobooth. Hopefully someday we can actually post images of a decent size on the board too.

Elbows

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #5 on: 08 September 2015, 16:00:41 »
Pretty cool enforcer you have in those pics.

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #6 on: 09 September 2015, 17:34:22 »
Thanks! It was a relatively simple cut at the waist. I wanted the post to mimic the illustration in TRO: 3025. I helped fund that sculpt so I'm quite fond of it. Too bad the mold lines on the legs were too severe to spend a lot of time filing.

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #7 on: 09 September 2015, 22:30:52 »
Some prep work here for the first four 'mechs.  My usual process is to file the edges of the hex bases smooth. I use a fairly large and coarse file for this so it doesn't take too long. Mold lines are gently smoothed with detail files. Unfortunately, sometimes you miss a few, which can be corrected after priming, or there are some that you just cannot remove without mangling details. To gap fill, I use either Liquid Green Stuff or superglue.

To fill hex bases, I prefer heavy-weight spackling. This has a few benefits:
1. Easy application.
2. You can mold it however you want. Subsequent layers can help shape your terrain.
3. It is easy to file down to get a flat surface.
4. It is easy to clean up off the feet of the miniature and sides of the hex base. A brush and toothpick does most of the work. If you are really stuck, you can get a bit of water or surface cleaner.
5. The weight of the spackle keeps your miniatures from tipping over, which is great for exaggerated poses or those top-heavy miniatures.

That's it for now. Next up will be antennae and priming!

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #8 on: 13 September 2015, 17:25:43 »
Moving along. Primed with Vallejo Model Air primer, I base-coated with Reaper MSP Misty Grey with my airbrush. I then airbrushed the feet and legs with Reaper MSP Earth Brown. This provides a sort of horizon line for a desert camouflage, which I imagine in a lot of ways is critical to BattleMech camo: dealing with the vertical rather than necessarily just a line-disrupting pattern.

So why gray for a horizon? The camo is based off of the Marauder in the Mechwarrior 1st Ed. color plates. But for Dune aficionados, the sky was also described as a harsh silver or gray!

This scheme is also possible through gentle dry-brushing, but you don't get quite the subtle color shading.

ColBosch

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #9 on: 13 September 2015, 18:07:27 »
Oooo. I like where this is going.
BattleTech is a huge house, it's not any one fan's or "type" of fans.  If you need to relieve yourself, use the bathroom not another BattleTech fan. - nckestrel
1st and 2nd Succession Wars are not happy times. - klarg1
Check my Ogre Flickr page! https://flic.kr/s/aHsmcLnb7v and https://flic.kr/s/aHsksV83ZP

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #10 on: 17 September 2015, 19:24:01 »
Roughed in details with before and after the wash with Army Painter Strong Tone. White details were cleaned up after a two layers of Testor's Dullcote. Next up, cockpit, flocking, painting the base, and final matte finish.

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #11 on: 17 September 2015, 19:36:02 »
Just a heads up, you don't add the "points cost" of the SPA to your units' cost.  SPAs you get from formations are free in every sense of the word, and individual SPAs don't cost PV either.
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abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #12 on: 17 September 2015, 19:39:01 »
Oh really... well, guess I'll get that Longbow, Skill 2 that I've wanted.  >:D

worktroll

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #13 on: 17 September 2015, 21:59:43 »
Abou,

Really great work! And without meaning to belittle your skill, it's a great indication of how you can get great results using 'magic dip' to enhance your minis.

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ColBosch

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #14 on: 17 September 2015, 22:23:49 »
It looks so good, I might change techniques halfway.

Dammit! :D
BattleTech is a huge house, it's not any one fan's or "type" of fans.  If you need to relieve yourself, use the bathroom not another BattleTech fan. - nckestrel
1st and 2nd Succession Wars are not happy times. - klarg1
Check my Ogre Flickr page! https://flic.kr/s/aHsmcLnb7v and https://flic.kr/s/aHsksV83ZP

Elbows

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #15 on: 18 September 2015, 06:39:09 »
Looks fantastic.  I'm not a great painter, I just find techniques which let me cheat to get a good lookin' mini on the table.  Dip is one of those cheats and I love it.  Well done!

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #16 on: 18 September 2015, 19:00:53 »
Thank you very much, gentlemen.

And no worries, WT, no offense taken. The Army Painter works great, but if you aren't careful it can pool heavily in some areas -- such as under the left knee in the JagerMech. But, what is nice about using Army Painter is mineral spirit clean-up! If you totally mess up (which I did on the first time with these four), you can clean it up without disturbing the acrylic paint.

Other thing to be careful with is what your dominant colors are. The brown shades of Army Painter work better with some colors than others. If you want to do a good job with yellows that drive you nuts, Army Painter is your friend.

Blues and reds? Not so much. Orange will works, as will greens.

Fear Factory

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #17 on: 18 September 2015, 19:58:41 »
Yeah, I have to get some Army Painter.  And an airbrush.  I have the room for it now.   >:D
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
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Elbows

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #18 on: 19 September 2015, 10:07:18 »
One tip when you're using dip (if you actually dip it, or brush it on) is to have a couple shreds of paper towel handy.  When the dip pools, just gently touch the shred to the pool, and let it soak it up.  I actually dip most of my figures and then let the excess drip off.  The rest is dabbed away carefully with towel shreds.

Here is a blog post I did when people asked me how I was dipping my fantasy figures.  You can see how a piss-poor simple paintjob is made into something very playable.

http://myminiaturemischief.blogspot.com/2014/08/lizardmen-and-how-tofor-beginners.html
« Last Edit: 19 September 2015, 10:09:01 by Elbows »

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #19 on: 19 September 2015, 15:12:06 »
And there we go. Finalized first lance.

Elbows

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #20 on: 19 September 2015, 18:37:48 »
Beautiful stuff, and excellent shading on the Battlemaster canopy.

Cidwm

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #21 on: 19 September 2015, 19:15:45 »
Man, those Mechs look fantastic.

Louie N

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #22 on: 21 September 2015, 01:10:42 »
Wow.  That dip did a job on them. 

Well done

abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #23 on: 21 September 2015, 13:17:28 »
Thank you very much, gentlemen.

ActionButler

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #24 on: 22 September 2015, 11:58:10 »
Excellent work  :)
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abou

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Re: A Call to War! 1st Avalon Irregulars: The Basiliskoi
« Reply #25 on: 19 May 2016, 19:22:59 »
Oh hey, this is a thing I need to finish.

 

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